Tabulating machine



Jam-5, 1937. w. w. LASKER 66,

TABULATING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1931 3 Sheets-Shgiet 1 ATTORN EY Jan. 5, 1937. w. w. LAS'KER I TABULATING-MACHINE .Filed July 2'7, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BEHEEEEEEWNiii"! flmmiifiu INVENTOR W22 Q/M UW4V JW- ATTORNEY Jan. 5, 1937.

w. w. LASKER TABULATING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 5, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TABULATING MACHINE William W. Lasker, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., New York, N. Y., a corlmration of Delaware Application July 27, 1931, Serial No. 553,317

10 Claims.

This invention relates to tabulator machines and more particularly to the means for printing alphabetical characters from the so-called spelling field of a card.

It has been common practice to equip tabulators, as for example the Powers, with alphabetic sectors for translating the perforations of a cards spelling field. Such alphabet sectors of necessity contain more than twice as many type 10 characters as do the usual numeric sectors. Heretofore the adjustment of such sectors to align the selected type at the printing line has required a correspondingly greater time, hence tabulator machines equipped with alphabet sectors have 15 had to be operated at speeds materially slower than that of corresponding machines without such equipment. In the well known Powers machines, the perforated cards are first stacked in a magazine from which they are ejected seriatim 2 to a sensing box, in which the cards are temporarily held during translation, a condition corresponding to such translation being then set up in a stop basket preparatory to actuating the type sectors to the printing position. After this, the 25 sensed or translated card. is fed to a receiving magazine and another card .is fed forward to be translated for another line of printing.

One object of this invention is to provide means whereby tabulator machines, provided with alphabet type sectors, may be run at a'much higher speed than has heretofore been deemed practical.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified mechanism for retracting the alphabet printing hammers a short distance, imme- 35 diately after they have struck the type, so that the type sectors may begin their return stroke immediately after printing.

Another object of this invention is to move auniversal alphabet sector restoring bail with sub- 40 stantially a simple harmonic motion, so that the said sectors may be restored by it with substantially the same type of motion.

,Another object of this invention is to restore the printing hammers at the time that the speed of the universal bail is a minimum.

Another object of this invention is to speed up the printing hammers by reducing the distance through which the said printing hammers travel to strike a printing blow.

Another object of this invention is to restrain the alphabetical printing hammers during totaling operations.

To the above and other ends the invention comprises certaln new features of construction and certain new combinations and arrangements of parts which will be fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front to rear diagrammatic elevation, showing 2. Powers tabulator in which the invention is embodied.

Fig. 2 is an approximate full sized elevation of an alphabet printing sector in initial position.

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the position of a hammer at the end of its percussive stroke.

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 after the hammer has had its momentum spent.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional elevation showing the mechanism for operating the alphabet sector universal bar.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the alphabet unit.

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic view showing the mechanism for restraining the alphabetic hammers during the space and total strokes of a totaling cycle.

Fig. 8 is a face view of the type on a type carrier.

In the drawings, the invention is shown applied to that form of Powers tabulating machine disclosed inthe patent to William W. Lasker, No. 2,044,119, dated June 16, 1936. In this patent the card hopper I'I" corresponds to magazine II hereof, arm 2I to arm I3, feed rolls 81 and 88 to feed rolls I4, card stop 236 to card stop I6, main shaft to main shaft 28, eccentric I83 to eccentric I9, sensing pins I14 to sensing pins 2|, and pins I58 to pins 24, slide I6I to slide 28, slide 32I to slide I38, shaft 342 to shaft I39, interponent 330 to interponent I388, bail 338 to I38I, and shaft 336 to shaft I382. (See Figs. 1, 10, 19 and 27 of the patent.) 5

A stack of pre-grouped perforated cards I0 is first inserted into the magazine II. During the regular operation of the machine, the cards are ejected seriatim from said magazine and indi-. vidually tabulated. The cards are extracted from the stack by means of the usual picker knife I2 operatively connected to an arm I3 of the usual picker mechanism the cards being then engaged successively by pairs of feed rolls I 4 and I5 arranged to move the card rearwardly against an effectively positioned card stop I6 which holds the card stationary between the pin boxes which are indicated in general by the reference numerals l1 and I8 (Fig. 1). While the card is held in the sensing position, the lower, or sensing pin,

vbox I8 is moved upwardly by a mechanism including a link embracing an eccentric disk I9 secured to themain shaft 20. The said main shaft is continuously rotated by a usual form of prime mover such as an electric motor, (not shown). The shaft 28 makes one rotation for each card tabulated and such rotation of this shaft is designated a cycle.

The lower pin box i8 is provided with a plurality of rows of sensing pins 2| corresponding to all of the possible perforations in the cards. If there is no hole in the card being tabulated or sensed, the pins 2| are held back when they strike the card 8 as is shown in the case of the single pin 2| illustrated in Fig. 1. If, however, there is a hole coinciding with any one or more of the sensing pins 2|, then that pin, or pins, is not arrested by the card and due to the movement of the pin box l8, said pins will pass through the perforations in the card. Just before the pins, which pass through perforations in the card, strike the associated upper, or reading retaining, pins 24, they will be locked stationary relatively to the pin box I8 by the series of locking slides 22 operatively connected with a cam-controlled universal locking slide controlling bail 23 which travels with the pin box l8. The universal lock ing bail 23 is controlled by a stationary cam 21 which is timed so that the above described locking takes place at the time stated. Further upward movement of the pin box l8 results in positively elevating the corresponding wires 25, situated in a structurally well known translating device 28 to set the corresponding stops 65 for determining the extent of movement of the type carrying sectors 35.

At about the time that pin box |8 has reached its highest position, the upper pins 24 are locked in their raised positions by means of the spring pressed locking slides 28 which cooperate with looking studs on said members 24. Due to the continuous rotation of the eccentric i8, the said members 24 will remain in their adjusted elevated positions while the pin box i8 is receding downwardly. When said pin box l8 has reached substantially that position where the pins are fully retracted from the perforated card, the stationary cam 21 operates the universal bail 23 to release the locked sensing pins 2|.

Just after the perforated card has been freed from the pins 2|, the card stop I6 is elevated and the now sensed card is fed onward by the pairs of skid rolls |5 to the ejecting rolls 29, and thence to the storage magazine 38.

The mechanism for printing alphabetic characters includes a number of pairs of arms which are journaled on the frame supported shaft 31 and are normally held in the relative positions shown in Fig. 2 by spring pressed catches 8|. The arm 35 carries a plurality of usual spring restored plunger types 36; and is connected to arm 83 by means of a pin 84 fixed to arm 35 and a spring urged catch 8| pivoted on member 83. Pin 84 and catch 8| are adapted to engage each other. The members 35 and 83 tend to rotate relatively to each other because of the tensioned spring 88 connecting them, which spring also urges the latch 8| to the position shown in Fig. 2 through the bell crank lever 88 pivoted on a stud 88 rigid with member 83 as shown in U. S. Patent to Lasker, No. 1,768,526, granted June 24, 1930. The member 35 is provided with an upwardly and rearwardly extending arm which is shaped to provide two hooks, one indicated at 8| for spring 88 and the other indicated at 81 for spring 88.

The tension of spring 88 which extends from hook 6| on the rearwardly extending arm of type sector 35 to a spring anchor on bar 51 will cause the type sector 35 to move forwardly and upwardly when the universal bail 38 is advanced during the operation of the machine. Stops 85 control the positioning of stop sector 83. It has been described above that the differential stops 65 are positioned by a reciprocation of the sensing box |8 while a perforated card is being read. Each of the stops 85 is provided with a stud 1| which lies forward of the associated cam face 12 of slide 88 which is under the tension of spring 13 through the medium of hell crank 18. Said slide 68 is mounted so as to have a sliding transverse movement on frame supported rods 81, 88. The forward end of the bell crank lever 18 has pivoted thereto the zero stop 84; hence, when any differential stop 85 is elevated, its stud 1|, by cooperating with a cam face I2, shifts the bar 86 rearwardly to rock bell crank 18 and withdraw the zero stop 84. When any of the first eleven characters of the aiphabetare sensed, one of the eleven stops 85 is elevated to determine the proper position of the type. If the twelfth character is sensed, disconnector 88 is elevated. The elevation of this element rocks catch 8| counterclockwise, causing the release of pin 84. The tension on spring 86 then causes arm 35 to advance the full extent allowed by slot 85 in member 83. When any of the last eleven characters are sensed a stop 65 and disconnector 88 are both elevated, pin 84 is released permitting type carrier 35 to be extended and arm 83 is advanced to the position indicated by the elevatedstop 85. There are, therefore, twenty-three possible type positions which number is one more than double the number of stop positions permitted by the stop basket elements.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 6, it will be seen that the universal bar 38 is carried at the lower ends of a pair of frames 48 pivoted on the supporting shaft 31. Said arms are pivotally connected through pins 45 fixed thereon to the links 44 extending rearwardly to pins 43 of the cranks 4|. Each of the cranks 4| (Fig. 5) is fixed by some suitable means such as the rivets 41 to a long hubbed gear 48. Each of the hubs of said gears is pinned to the shaft 42 so that the crank, gear and shaft rotate as a unit. Each of the gears 48 meshes with a companion gear 54 pinned to the auxiliary main, sometimes called rotation, shaft 58.

A complete rotation of the shaft 58 correspondingly causes a complete rotation of the cranks 4| thus shifting the universal bail 38 forwardly and upwardly, as shown in Fig. 7, and then returning to the position shown in Fig. 2, and during such movement the types 38 are positioned to the printing line of the platen 85 under the control of previously set stops 85 or under the combined control of the disconnector 88 and stops 85.

Shaft 58 is a rotation shaft which is connected through a pair of beveled gears 52 (Fig. 1) to the frame supported downwardly extending connecting shaft 53, the lower end of which terminates in one of a pair of similar beveled gears 5|, one of which is fast to the main shaft 28. The main shaft 28 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1 and gears 52 are so located that shaft 58 rotates in the opposite direction but with the same speed of rotation.

For effecting printing by the positioned type, spring pressed hammers which are journalled on a frame supported shaft 8 are provided. The printing hammers 81 are normally restrained in cocked position by the spring pressed latches |84 each engaging a tooth at the lower end of each of said hammers, as shown in Fig. 2. Each of the latches I84 has pivoted near the midpoints thereof, a spring pressed interponent I03 which lies above the forwardly extending arm of its companion bell crank lever 98 which bell crank is loosely pivoted on the printing element frame supported shaft 99. When a type carrier element 35 moves from its normal position shown in Fig. 2, to that determined by any stop 65, the cam surface IOI contacts with the rearwardly extending arm of the bell crank member 98 to rock said member downwardly thus elevating the interponent I03 slightly. When the selected type 36 has been positioned at the printing line, (see Fig. 7) universal bar 39 has reached the position shown, also, the universal hammer releasing bail II9 has been rocked to substantially the position shown and in such position it has shifted all the elevated interponents I03 forwardly to release the latches I04 and permit the springs I09 to urge the corresponding printing hammers 91 to strike a percussive blow against the then positioned type 36.

The bail I I9 (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 7) is carried by a pair of arms fixed to the shaft II8. Also fixed to said shaft I I8 is an arm I to which is pivoted a link I2f extending downwardly to a pivot I- on cam I22 of the type usually used for engaging and disengaging totalizers which camis fixed to the main oscillatory shaft I23. A pitman I28 is pivoted to the upper end of arm I29 (Fig. 1), which arm is fixed to shaft I23. Said pitman extends rearwardly to pin I21 which extends laterally from crank I26 fixed to the rotation shaft 50. When the type carriers have returned to normal, the cam IOI does not contact with the arm 98 so that the spring I01 attached to the interponent I03 lowers the rear end out of the path of the hammer releasing bail II9 so that a printing hammer 91 will be restrained unless the associ-ated type carrier is moved from normal or zero position. Each of the members 83, when it reaches normal position abuts against a fixed portion of the frame work to limit further reverse movement. When a member 83 is stopped during the return stroke of the universal bail 39, the member is forced rearwardly, independent of member 83, and such independent motion continues until crank pin 43 has reached its upper dead center position. At about the time this point is reached, the spring pressed latch. 8| engages the pin 84 thus again connecting members 35 and 83.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the mechanism is shown in its initial position. In returning to this position from that shown in Fig. '7, sector 35 is first picked up by universal restoring bar 39 and moved rearwardly, spring 86 causing 83 to movewith it until 83 is arrested, as is usual in mechanism of this sort, by any suitable means. Bar 39 then carries 35 a short distance beyond its normal position so as to enable latch 8I to engage pin 84. This latching occurs at the dead center of pin 43. In this position sector 83 is in its rearmost position against an abutment (not shown) on the framework of the machine. Crank 4| then moves far enough beyond dead center to allow bar 39 to advance a distance sufficient to allowsector 83 to contact zero stop 64. Ifinterponent 80 is operated to release latch 8I before bail 39 has advanced to allow positioning of the type sectors, sector 83 *is displaced with respect to 35 a distance such that the two sectors will not again be engaged by latch 8I until after bail 39 has completed its cycle.

Each of the printing hammers 91 is provided with a forwardly extending finger II1 which lies by partially stretching the springs in the path of the rearwardly extending end of its associated spring pressed buffer arm 2. Just before the hammer 91 reaches the positioned type, as shown in Fig. 4 the associated finger II1 will contact the associated arm II2. Each of the buffers H2 is loosely fastened on a printing unit supported shaft H3 and is held in its normal position shown in Figs. 2 and-4 by a spring II5 which is strong as compared to the relaxed strength of the printing hammer actuating springs I09. The printing hammers are released when the pins 43 of the cranks 4I have reached their approximate lower dead center position,

as shown in Fig. 7. A portion of the momentum v of the released printing hammers 91 is absorbed II5, the remainder being used for effecting a percussive printing blow (see Fig. 3) The partially stretched springs II5 then slightly withdraw the hammers 91 to the position shown in Fig. 4 thus permitting the carriers 35 to begin their return excursions before the printing hammers are cocked. The hammers are not retracted by the bail II9 until the pin 43 has passed very considerably beyond its lower dead ,center position. Therefore, the partial hammer retraction by buffers I I5 permits a more rapid operation of the alphabet sectors.

During a total printing operation, the machine goes through an idle cycle which is used for restoring tripped transfers (if any), then through a total taking cycle. It is desirable to restrain the alphabet printing hammers during such cycles, since the alphabetic sectors might occasion ally be released during the change-of-designationsensing operation, which would cause undesired printing by these sectors. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that a slide I38 is associated with each order of the reading retaining pins 24. This slide I38 is spring pressed rearwardly by a device such as that shown in Fig. 19 of the cited Patent No. 2,044,119.

Slides I38 may be. pre-selected by positioning a manually settable interponent I380 between said slides and a universal bail, thereby controlling the functions of total control shaft I 39 through a pawl and ratchet mechanism which is actuated by a cam (such as 360, Fig. 2'? of the cited Patent No. 2,044,119) on main shaft 20.

When there is a change in the subject matter ,of the record, slides I38 are move-d forwardly by the movement of any upper;-.or reading retaining, pin 24. This motion of slides I38 causes the forward end thereof to contact interponent I380 which has been set in the process of preselecting the column in which the change-of-designation is to be made effective. The motion of I 38 will move interponent I380 and bail I38I causing an oscillation of shaft I382 which shaft corresponds to shaft 336 (Fig. 10) of the cited Patent No. 2,044,119. This motion of shaft I382 will trip the latch (not shown, but the same in shape and identical in function tolatch 352, Fig. 19 of the cited patent) of the automatic totaling device to release an arm such as 346 :3 that the next turn of shaft 20 will cause the cam, such as 360, to raise a rod, such as 354. The raising of this rod will actuate the released arm to force a pawl such as 344, which is mounted thereon, against a ratchet, such as 343, thus turning the ratchet and causing the shaft I39 to be turned, thereby actuating the mechanism for the control of nonprint bail I35. A cam I55 is mounted upon shaft I39, which shaft controls the function of total shaft I56I. The mechanism for this control con- I sists of lever I51, link I56 and arm I560. When shaft I39 is turned, lever I5'I is rocked counterclockwise, pulling link I56 downwardly and rocking arm I560 and shaft I55I clockwise to actuate the mechanism associated with totaling. Since the control of instrumentalities for the taking of totals by a shaft such as I56l is a well known expedient, having been in use in the so-called Powers tabulators since August 1915 and adequately disclosed in patents to Penney No. 1,317,454 (shaft 40), Lasker No. 1,376,555 (shaft I9), Penney and Davidson No. 1,376,572 (shaft 243), and Lasker No. 1,388,271 (shaft 32), a detailed description will not be given herein.

The mechanism associated with the control of non-print bail I35 as shown in Figs. 1 and 7 and consists of cam I which is mounted on shaft I39, spring urged bell crank I which is journalled on shaft I43, link I44, lever I45, shaft I46 and link I48. When shaft I39 and cam I40 are actuated spring urged bell crank I4! is rocked clockwise elevating I44 and rocking lever I45. This motion pulls I48 downwardly and swings nonprint bail I35 counterclockwise to a position such that the lip on the lower edge of the bail is interposed in the path of the hook at the lower forward end of hammer 97.

When cam I40 is turned to permit the follower on bell crank IM to rest in one of the notches of said cam the above described mechanism Will move the non-print bail I35 out of the path of print hammer 91, and when in the operation of machine latch I04 releases print hammer 97, printing of the character set on the type carrier 35 is permitted.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described, a series of type carriers, means for setting said type carriers to differential positions, said means including record sensing means, means for effecting printing from the positioned type carriers and means comprising an intermittently operable cam shaft, the operation of which is initiated by the ascent or descent of said type carrier setting means for restraining said means for effecting printing.

2. In a machine of the class described, a series of type carriers, means for controlling the positioning of said type carriers to differential positions said means including record sensing means, means for effecting printing from the positioned type carriers, means associated with said sensing means for initiating a change in the operation of the machine, and means under control of the change initiating means for restraining said printing means.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a card sensing mechanism, a series of type carriers, means under control of said sensing mechanism for determining the extents of movement of said type carriers, automatic means for sensing the end of a group of preselected cards, a cam, means controlled by said last mentioned sensing means to cause the actuation of said cam, and means associated therewith to render said printing mechanism ineffective.

4. In a machine of the class described, a perforated record card; a type carrier and hammer mechanism associated therewith, means for controlling the extents of movement of the said type carrier said means including record sensing mechanism and reading retaining mechanism, and means controlled by said reading retaining mechanism for rendering said hammer mechanism ineffective.

5. In a machine of the class described, a printing mechanism including type carriers and hammer mechanism associated therewith, record controlled means for governing the extent of actuation of the type carriers for positioning type to be struck by said hammer mechanism, and record controlled mechanism for restraining said hammer mechanism, said restraining mechanism including a normally ineffective hammer blocking bail.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a perforated record card, records, record sensing means, a series of extensible type carriers, a corresponding series of normally locked hammers for striking type carried by said carriers, means under control of each of the carriers for releasing the lock of its hammer, and universal means controlled by said record card for rendering said releasing means ineffective.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of perforated record cards, record sensing means, a series of extensible type carriers and a corresponding series of normally locked hammers for striking type carried by said type carriers, means for causing the release of said normally locked hammers, and means under control of said record card perforations for blocking said hammers against actuation.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of record sensing means, totaling means, extensible type carriers and resilient hammers associated therewith, means, the action of which is initiated by said sensing means and which is actuated by said totaling means for restraining the action of said hammers, and means which move according to the principle of simple harmonic motion forrestoring said type carriers.

9. In a machine of the class described, a series of type bars; means, including record sensing pins and movable reading retaining pins for controlling the differential positioning of said type bars; means for effecting printing from the positioned type bars; and means operable by the action of any of said movable reading retaining pins for causing said printing means to be restrained.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a card sensing mechanism, a series of movable type bars, means under control of said sensing mechanism for positioning said type bar for printing, printing hammers, means responsive to the action of said sensing means for initiating a change in the operation of the machine, and means associated with said last named means for restraining said printing hammers.

WILLIAM W. LASKER. 

